AUGUST UPDATE

Hello again to the outside world! I hope this update finds you all doing well and finding yourself blessed daily. This past month has been a wild and crazy month, so I will get right to sharing. Don’t forget to look at pics from floor projects and other things on facebook!

PICS

Floors!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2038850&l=1a736&id=156800196

Mom’s Visit

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2038853&l=4c317&id=156800196
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2038855&l=728b0&id=156800196


STORY- Well, it is always humbling to go into a home and realize that most tool sheds and barns are in better condition than the home you are looking at. A lot of the times I walk into a home and think, “They don’t just need a floor, they need a whole new house!” There are ministries that do build homes for people around the city, but the people I normally see are the people I feel like a lot of missions overlook, or never see to begin with. For example, you may remember some photos from a floor project we did for a family down by the river. While we were there, I was playing with some kids that lived “cerca,” or close. All day I thought about how hard it must be for these kids to live in the kind of neighborhood we were in.

Later on in the day, I started paying attention to a home that was across the river from the one we were working on. From the outside, it definitely looked like one of the worst houses I had ever seen. You could tell the boards were all loose, and that sheets of metal were “weaved” into the sides, and not even nailed in. I watched this lady come out of her home and begin moving around pieces of boards and metal to other places on the house that were without any protection at all. I then noticed that two of the sides of the house had NO boards, just bed sheets hanging from the poorly made roof.

In the meantime, I continued to play with these children, and became very attached to one little one, Maria Fernanda. She loved so much sitting on my lap and playing. She would take off my glasses, put them on her face, point, and laugh the cutest laugh you have ever heard. Then she would put them back on my face and do the same thing. Then I started to try to get her to say my name, and her name. I would do the typical hand on my chest and say “Jesse,” then point to her and say “Maria.” After a few times she caught on and would slap my chest, say “JESSE,” and would repeat that same laugh over and over again. Later, she discovered a bucket of sand next to us and she would put her whole hand in it, and then hold it up asking for a “high-five.” She would grab hold of my hand with hers full of sand, and rub them together, again repeating the laugh that I was starting to cherish. As she was getting tired, she began to lay her head on my shoulder, nap for a few minutes, then jump up and repeat everything we had done so far. Throughout the day, I also became attached to her brother, Samuel, and her two older sisters, Glenda and Geny.

As the day was coming to a close, my attention went back across the river to the home I had seen earlier, and I saw this lady walking down from her home, and began wading across the river toward us. Maria points across to this lady and says “MAMA!” My heart instantly sinks and my whole stomach tightens. I instantly realize and acknowledge that God has placed this family before me to help them with their needs. After talking with her through Nilsy, my translator, I discover that she works as a street sweeper and makes about $10 a week. A street sweeper here literally is a person that walks around different parts of the city with a straw broom and large bags, carrying an orange cone behind them warning motorists of their presence ahead. Her husband no longer lives at the home because he was a drunk and abusive father, and was asked to leave in the past. When I asked what she would say her needs were, she only asked that she be able to feed her 4 children.

She lives there with no electricity, running water, sink, or plumbing, and a dirt floor. Most homes here have some kind of outside “pila,” a concrete washboard with a basin full of water. This lady, whose name is also Maria, has a large round rock that she scrubs her clothes on. Most homes here have an electric or gas burner for cooking. Maria has a barrel with a hole cut out of the side and an old grill set up off the top by a couple of brick fragments. She has a shower made out of some tree poles with some shredded vinyl around the outside. On the inside is a small bucket that they use to bathe with.

After speaking with some of the staff of WGO, I believe that it is going to work out for us to be able to at least put a concrete floor in for her so she will have a solid piece of concrete to walk on and live on. Hopefully, in the future, we will be able to do even more to help this family. I am not sure at this point whether Maria is a believer, and would appreciate your prayers for her and her children.

I have been able to visit her a couple of times since then, the most recent was while my mother was here visiting. We took the children book bags full of school supplies, at least a week’s supply of food, and a few other items that we hope will help them feel loved, blessed, and cared for. The laughter and the joy on their faces was a wonderful experience to be able to share with my mom. I feel like we both learned even more why I am here for this time in Honduras.

MOM’S VISIT- In other news, my mom’s time here in Honduras was absolutely wonderful. She arrived her on a Wednesday after a full day of travel experiences. After a late arrival, we spent the afternoon just settling in, relaxing, and visiting with the team that was currently here.

On Thursday, we spent the entire day on the ranch side of the ministry. On our way out there, we stopped by the waterfall nearby and drove around the countryside. While at the ranch, we were able to see all of the property, visit the school, pick fresh blackberries, and hang out with some of my friends there. In the afternoon, we were able to watch the praise and worship band practice, and spend some time on the soccer field playing with the kids. For dinner, we went to Karen and Ronal’s, a family that is on the ranch with a home of 5 kids! She cooked us several Honduran dishes, and we had a great time hanging out with them and playing with the kids.

On Friday, we went with the team to the brigade site and poured a concrete floor! It was a great time sharing with her what I get to do 2-3 times per week. We finished up by lunch time and decided we would leave early and relax in the afternoon. Friday night, we met with about 20 other people at La Cumbre, and nice restaurant a little more up the mountain with an amazing view of the city. We had a wonderful time and my mom got to meet lots of the other people from the ranch and the mission house.

On Saturday, we took most of the day easy, but we did go to Valley of the Angels and visit all of the shops and had a nice lunch at a small café outside. We spent the evening here at the mission house resting and watching a movie.

Sunday was church, and then afterward we went shopping for school supplies and made the visit to Maria’s house that I talked about in the above story.

The REST of the week from Monday through Thursday is way too much for me to tell in this update, but I will say we had a Honduran experience for sure. We bussed around the country and went to the Mayan Ruins in Copan and visited the north coast in Tela. We arrived back here on Thursday, rested up, and got her stuff together. Friday morning we woke up, and headed to the airport to say our goodbyes!

OTHER FLOORS- We were able to touch 7 different families over the past 3 teams that were here with new floors. The family that sticks out the most to me is a family that may have been one of those “overlooked.” We went to a church and the pastor had not been able to locate a floor. We did eventually end up finding a church member that needed an outside area on the back of her home. However, I really wanted to find a home that was in definite need of a concrete floor, and felt confident that if we looked hard enough, God would provide that family. Denny, a brigade manager, and I decided to drive around the area and just walk up to people’s homes and ask them if they would like a new concrete floor. Well, after a few failed attempts, we found the right one. We found a family of believers who attended a different church, but the husband was currently out of work and the wife, Alejandrina, sold tortillas right out of her home. Later, she admitted that we scared her a little until she was convinced that we ourselves were Christians and were doing this as work unto the Lord. That was definitely a little different scenario that we had been in before. God definitely blessed us as much as this family as both husband and wife encouraged us by their faith in God’s providence in all situations.

OTHER NEWS- Well, I turned 25 this past month. My birthday was celebrated at the brigade site with the traditional Honduran birthday cake. I was covered with broken eggs and flour. It was the stickiest, grossest mess ever.

FUNDRAISING- God is continuing to provide for my financial needs this year. I am currently at $11,250 toward my goal for this year which covers July 2008-July 2009. If you feel that you can contribute to my remaining needs for this year, please follow the directions below. THANKS AGAIN to all of you who are making this year in Honduras possible for me.

1. If you are able to open the attached form, complete it and send it to the address as directed.

OR

2. If you cannot open the attached form, do the following. Please include a note indicating whether it is a one-time gift, or if you would continue making a monthly gift and in what amount.
Please make checks payable to World Gospel Outreach. Your donation is tax deductible, but please be sure that you put “TINER” on the envelope and on the MEMO line of your check. May God richly bless you for supporting me in this work!

Please return any donation to:

World Gospel Outreach
Attn: Jesse Tiner Fund
P. O. Box 14348
Humble, TX 77347-4348

The Holidays are drawing nearer and again I look forward to visiting all of you during that time. May God bless all of you!
In Love,
Jesse Tiner